Islam

Pope Francis before his General Audience on Wednesday, greeted a Palestinian delegation hosted by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Speaking to those gathered, the Pope told them that it was his hope “that your consultations may help to open a space of sincere dialogue for the benefit of all the members of Palestinian society, and [...]

Religious leaders met in Japan from Aug 3 to 4 to pray for peace in the world and as a response to Pope Francis’ wish to foster dialogue, friendship and peace. About 2,000 people, including 24 delegates from 18 countries of Buddhism, Shintoism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Zoroastrianism came together in Japan at an inter-faith "Interreligious Gathering of Prayer [...]

January 31, 2017, Tuesday -- "The flower of mankind" "Our forefathers... were able to bequeath to us a Church and a civilization that really is the flower of mankind." — Steve Bannon, top advisor to US President Donal Trump, in 2014, speaking from Los Angeles to a Vatican conference on global poverty and on how best [...]

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door as he begins the Holy Year of Mercy at the start of a Mass with priests, religious, catechists and youths at the cathedral in Bangui, Central African Republic, Nov. 29. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) See POPE-BANGUI-MERCY Nov. 29, 2015. Pope Francis told reporters he is well aware that [...]

NOMINATIONS Mary Collins. Thanks to Francis’ firm decision to continue the work Benedict XVI began before him, Mary Collins, an Irish woman who was abused by a priest when she was just 13 years old, has been nominated a member of the Holy See’s new anti-pedophilia commission. A woman who was abused in the [...]

When it was the heart of the Soviet Union, Russia embraced a communist ideology that denied the existence of God and the eternity of the human soul, calling such beliefs socially harmful mystifications. Today, in 2013, Russia is quite dramatically preaching traditional Christian faith and values -- to the consternation of many secular thinkers in the once-Christian West.

Pope Francis has reached out in a very friendly way to Muslims, calling them “brothers.” He has done so on a number of occasions, including at Aparecida on July 24, when he met a representative of Brazilian Muslims, and on August 11 when, from the Vatican, he extended his greeting to “the Muslims of the entire [...]